LONDON , England -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- The apocalyptic tales of nature 's impending demise are as well worn as they are numerous .

Dr. Joseph Adelegan has pioneered new energy sources , including using cow waste to create cooking gas .

But while our leaders wrangle over quotas for greenhouse emissions over banquets at lavish summits , there are remarkable individuals who are doing their small bit to prevent our planet from peril .

Take Nigerian civil engineer , Dr Joseph Adelegan for instance .

He firmly believes that the world 's future fuel demands can be met through renewable energy .

And he is using increasingly innovative methods to achieve these results .

Three years ago Adelegan won plaudits for his `` Cows to Kilowatts '' project , which used effluents and waste products from abattoirs to produce cooking gas .

The project was a winner of the prestigious 2005 Supporting Entrepreneurs for Environment and Development -LRB- SEED -RRB- International Awards .

It is still going strong and being used to provide cooking fuel for nearly 6000 homes in Ibadan , southern Nigeria . Adelegan tells CNN there are now plans to roll it out across most of Africa , including Zimbabwe , Kenya and Egypt .

This time he 's back with another groundbreaking idea to use waste from the cassava plant , a staple food of Nigeria , to generate electricity .

His project `` Power to the Poor : Off-Grid Lighting from Cassava Waste in Nigeria , '' was awarded a $ 250,000 grant in May from the World Bank after being named one of the best projects in Africa .

According to Adelegan , Nigeria produces over 20 percent of the world 's output of cassava , it is a $ 5 billion industry and provides the third largest source of carbohydrates for human food .

However , waste from cassava refining is a major public health problem in Nigeria , causing water pollution and emitting noxious greenhouse gases .

Through innovative biogas technology , zero emission bioreactors at specially constructed plants treat the cassava waste and produce biogas which drives microturbines for low cost , safe and reliable off-grid efficient lighting to thousands of rural homes .

Using this method , Adelegan says he hopes to generate 200kw daily , which will provide basic electricity for more than 2000 households initially .

He told CNN : `` There will be four lighting points in their homes . We 're thinking in terms of basic lighting , they will be able to use their TV , cassette player , that sort of thing , but it will not be able to power a refrigerator .

`` These people currently rely on kerosene lamps that are very bad for emissions and pollution . We also plan to provide them with low wattage lamps that use just 5kw to bring down usage . ''

Through his not-for-profit organization -- Global Network for Environment and Economic Development Research -RRB- -- Adelegan has achieved the impressive feat of galvanizing the notoriously bureaucratic Nigerian government into action .

He told CNN that the governor of Kwara State , in northern Nigeria has donated a plot of land for the launch of the project , scheduled to start next month .

The scheme will cost $ 310,000 and will become profitable in little over three years , Adelegan says .

`` This can never replace fossil fuels because of the huge demand we have for them , but we can help to reduce greenhouse emissions by creating alternative sources of energy , '' he said .

The Ice Man Cometh

In the furthest reaches of northern India , glaciers once stretched far down the mountains , now they are all but gone as global warming takes its devastating toll .

Hardworking but impoverished farmers in the Ladakh region have watched as their sole source of fresh water slowly melts away .

But one man is taking matters into his own hands . Enter Chewang Norphel , a softly-spoken but sprightly 72-year-old has created artificial glaciers and managed to generate water and greenery in this barren landscape .

Perched high up in the remote cold deserts of the Himalayas , Norphel has mastered the art of harvesting water by using just a few hundred meters of iron pipes and stone embankments .

`` Fifty to sixty years ago , we used to have huge glaciers here , the retired civil engineer , told CNN . `` They have been reduced now because of global warming and now they are on high peaks . ''

The idea of the ` artificial glacier ' was born after he noticed that taps were left running in winter to stop the water from freezing in the pipes . The water then flowed into the drains surrounding the taps and froze .

`` And it then occurred to me : ` why not try and make artificial glaciers in the winter ? ' So that local farmers get a real headstart when they need it most , '' Norphel says .

The result was a device which traps the waters which melt down the high mountains by turning them into chunks of ice .

The largest artificial glacier Norphel has built so far is near the village of Phuktsey . About 1,000 feet -LRB- 300 meters -RRB- long , 150 feet -LRB- 45 meters -RRB- wide , and four feet -LRB- 1 meter -RRB- deep , it supplies irrigation water to the entire village of around 700 people .

For Norphel , there are several advantages of an artificial glacier over a natural one .

Firstly , it is closer to the village and at a comparatively lower altitude . Natural glaciers , on the other hand , are located way up in the mountains and they melt slowly in summer , releasing water to the villages quite late .

Now engineers from other mountainous regions in India and Afghanistan have visited to learn his methods . One artificial glacier costs just $ 7,000 , compared to $ 34,000 for a dam . Only local materials are needed , and the villagers themselves can build and maintain them .

For his efforts , Norphel has been awarded the Far Eastern Economic Review 's 1999 Gold Asian Innovation Award , twelve years after he created the first one .

However , he is frustrated at the lack of investment and funding to help modernize the design .

`` The funding is not sufficient , '' he said . `` We are getting very little amounts and we need a lot more . I hope to get more as this year I want to make two or three more glaciers , with a new design to improve the efficiency . ''

In 1996 , one year after he had retired , Norphel joined the Leh Nutrition Project , a non-governmental organization , as project manager for watershed development .

`` Watershed development is the only solution for Ladakh 's rural economy . Otherwise , you will have rural folk flocking the city in search of jobs . And there are not many to go around , '' he says .

Do you have other examples of how people are using innovative ways to create renewable energy sources ? Share your views and experiences in our sound-off box below .

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Individuals around the world are devising innovative ways to save the planet

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Joseph Adelegan has created fuels using cow waste and cassava plant

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Chewang Norphel is known as the `` Ice Man '' after creating artificial glaciers